Community given £20K portable unit

A FORMER temporary classroom could soon be transformed into a multi-purpose community facility in Rhodes.

NEW councillor and Hopwood Hall’s school’s liaison manager Donna Martin shows off the unit from the college.

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A FORMER temporary classroom could soon be transformed into a multi-purpose community facility in Rhodes.

Staff at Hopwood Hall College, on Rochdale Road, have agreed to donate the disused portable teaching unit - worth £20,000 - to the Rhodes Tenants' and Residents' Association for use by the local community.

If the go-ahead is given for the scheme then the proposed 40ft community centre, which used to house two temporary classrooms, could provide somewhere for young people to gather of an evening and also offer a facility for local community groups to meet on Boardman Lane.

Councillor Teresa Fitzsimons said she thought the the mobile unit would make an excellent facility for the community but that the final decision would rest with members of the local community. Leaflets are set to be distributed to people living in the area to ask them whether they will support the proposal.

Cllr Fitzsimons said: "It is essential to test the opinion of the people in the area. If they do not want it then the idea is a non-starter. In my opinion it could be a very good facility and it will be a pity if it gets turned down because as I have said many times, there is no point in putting up 'Mosquito' devices and sending youths away. They have to have somewhere to go. They want to get together with their peers and they have haven't got anywhere at the moment. This is one way of fulfilling that need."

Elaine Richardson, chairman of the Rhodes Tenants' and Residents'' Association said she fully supported the plans for the new community centre and would be handing out leaflets to other residents in the coming weeks .

She said: "It would be brilliant if we could get it as it is a really good opportunity for us. We need somewhere central in Rhodes where we can put on all sorts of activites."